Yüksel Sezgin is the director of the Middle Eastern Studies Program and
an assistant professor of political science at the Maxwell School of Citizenship
and Public Affairs, Syracuse University.

He earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University
of Ankara, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the University of London
(SOAS), and the University of Washington. Prior to working at the Maxwell
School, he taught at the University of Washington, Harvard Divinity School,
and the City University of New York. He has held research positions at Princeton
University, Columbia University, Bielefeld University, the American University
in Cairo, and the University of Delhi.

Professor Sezgin’s research and teaching interests include legal pluralism,
comparative religious law (Islamic, Jewish and Hindu), and human and women’s
rights in the Middle East, South Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa. His scholarly
articles on comparative law, religion, and politics have appeared in various
edited volumes and journals.

Professor Sezgin is a member of the executive body of the Commission
on Legal Pluralism and the associate editor of the Journal of Legal Pluralism.

Professor Sezgin has also served as a consultant to major international
development agencies including the UNDP, UN Women, WHO, and USAID. His commentaries
and opinion pieces on Turkish politics and regional affairs have appeared
in a wide range of print and online publications including The Washington
Post and Al Jazeera English.